LOS ANGELES — You could tell how serious Steve Nash seems to think his back/nerve issue is by his demeanor after the game. Speaking with the media in the hallway he was quiet and appeared deflated. He described himself as emotional and said this was hard to talk about.

Nash played just 13 minutes and was limping around Sunday night during the Lakers blowout loss to the Timberwolves. There was no blow or play that caused this, it was there all game and it is tied to the nerve issue in his back that radiates down his leg to his hamstring, something that has been an issue since the first day of camp. It bothered him so much Sunday Nash wasn’t even on the bench in the second half.

Monday he said will see a specialist as they try to come up with a course of action and see how fast they can get him back playing with the Lakers. Nash said he had no idea when that would be but his body language suggested it could be a while.

“It’s just been coming on, my back and my hamstring and the nerve has been bothering me for a while now,” Nash said. “Tonight I started limping and that was it.”

Nash felt he couldn’t be effective as he was trying get off his left leg as much as he could.

“Mike took me out (early in the second quarter), I should have come out in the first quarter,” Nash said. “Today was a bad day on the way to the game, so it was just a struggle today.”

“I’m concerned,” Mike D’Antoni said. “He was struggling physically tonight, you could just see it on his face and that’s why I took him out.”

Nash was dejected, hesitant to even talk about the situation.

“It’s tough…” Nash said. “It’s hard, I really want to play and play the way I’m accustomed to playing, and to be so limited is frustrating. And to not know where a cleanish bill of health is, is a little daunting, too.”

It’s daunting for a 3-5 Lakers team that was counting on Steve Nash to create shots for others this season, especially with Kobe Bryant still out. It could be a while before he does that again.

Not even sure what this comment means; if you’re an LA fan, you’re screwed since he’s on the books another two seasons. You have to hope a really bad team (read: Toronto) will deal for him (expect some garbage contracts back) so he can lay on the hardwood all game long up there.

Yep, Nash left the Fountain of Youth, now he’s starting to fall apart quick. Time to move Gasol and tell Kobe not to rush back this season.

limonadamas - Nov 11, 2013 at 5:06 AM

i’m saying he’s done. i’m saying that the torch has been passed to others. it’s striking how completely several guys have fallen off so far the past few seasons (e.g. Nash, Amare, KG, etc…). obviously, it’s inevitable. i’m just saying it’s a new era.

i’m an LA fan. i understand the contract’s bad. there’s no way Ujiri’s going to trade for Nash without crippling LA. he’s way too good of an exec to do anything less.

If the Lakers are lucky this worthless dirtbag will never return to the Lakers lineup. About time for this overaged piece of trash to stop making the Lakers look over the hill on defense. Trash Nash has been a total bust as a Laker, Nash is the ultimate Faker!

The Lakers need to get rid of Steve Flake, the other sorry excuse for a guard. Sure will be better when Kobe returns, but I think the best thing for Kobe after this season is to find a better team where he will have a chance at winning another ring or two.

Hopefully the Lakers will stink it up enough to get that worthless dirtbag Dumbtoni fired. Not until we get rid pif Dumbtoni will the Lakers have a chance to get a good coach who can lead them to a title. I’ve had more than enough of that loser small ball that Dumbtoni wants to play.

I feel terrible for Nash. To see such an illustrious career end this way is just sad. Even if you hate the LAKERS, if you’re a fan of the NBA, you have to feel bad for Nash. He has been the consummate professional his entire career. And even though it hasn’t worked out with the LAKERS, I am still happy that he wore the PURPLE AND GOLD. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him. I just wish we could’ve gotten him 5 years ago.

Steve Nash was not only legendary in his offense capabilities (Scoring, 3-point %, free throw percentage, assists, creating offense etc etc etc.), he was legendary in his defensive prowess as well. Anyone he was guarding would have similar stats to his. He was the worst defender to ever step on the court. This is why he never won a ring. Point guards abused him and put his big men in foul trouble. He was absolutely horrible on defense. I think he was a great pg, but his defense allowed playoff teams to do whatever they wanted against them. Defense wins championships. Period.

Nash is one of the best point guards to have played the game, that being said the only “course of action” left is to start planning his retirement party. I can’t even really thank the man for the memories as the only ones I have of him are in a suns jersey making it rain on us. Time to hang it up…

Fans (and bad GM’s!) need to stop looking at players as some kind of chess piece and just be realistic. It’s not like it was a hard thing to predict that a 40-yr-old point guard would break down physically. Gasol is next. 7-ft Eurodudes aren’t exactly known for their ability to stay healthy into their mid 30’s…

Combined with an ineffective Kobe this will continue to plunge the Lakers into a pit of hellfire, from whence they came. May they stay long and fester.